Seattle Theatre Group Receives Grant from Disney

Seattle Theatre Group was recently selected as a regional grantee for Disney Musicals in Schools (DMIS), by Disney Theatrical Group. The designation comes with a $100,000 grant from Disney Citizenship, which will provide a unique educational opportunity to five Title 1 Seattle/King County public elementary schools during after-school hours. The selected schools are: Emerson Elementary, Mt. View Elementary, Van Asselt Elementary, West Seattle Elementary, and White Center Heights Elementary. The program is based on Disney KIDS musicals, written for elementary-aged students, and designed for production in a school setting. These half-hour shows feature accessible music, ensemble casts, and classic Disney stories such as 101 Dalmatians, Aladdin, The Aristocats, Cinderella, The Jungle Book, Sleeping Beauty, and Winnie the Pooh.

Each school commits a team of teachers to the program. These School Teams are guided through onsite support and training from a team of two STG Teaching Artists during the rehearsal and production process. The Teaching Artists serve as production and creative advisors, with the goal of training and empowering each School Team to run the program in the future.

The magic of Disney will have a place in Seattle-area schools where imagination, creativity, problem solving, teamwork, and communication skills will be applied in the making of these student productions. "We are very happy to be leading this dynamic arts education initiative locally that was initially offered in New York City public schools," said Vicky Lee, Director of Education and Performance programs at STG. "After a successful first year, we hope to continue this program for many years to come." Selected schools will additionally participate in a culminating Disney Musicals in Schools Student Share Celebration on March 10th, 2015, at STG's historic Moore Theatre.

"Studies show that arts access improves attendance rates, lowers disciplinary rates, and helps raise test scores in other subject areas. This type of program is especially vital for students who may not have many opportunities to interact with the arts either in or out of the school day", said Randy Engstrom, Director of Office of Arts and Culture. "We're thrilled to have Seattle Theatre Group performing this important work in Seattle," he continued.